IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


IIS 

lit 


IL25  III  1.4 


■  20 

lii 


6" 


Hiotographic 

Sdeoces 

Corporalion 


^ 


r<\^ 


<^ 


^. 


33  WIST  MAIN  STRIIT 

WHSTILNY.  MSM 

(71*)t7a-4S03 


O^ 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


^ 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  IMicrcraproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  da  microraproductions  historiquas 


\M: 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniquas  at  biblSographiquaa 


Tha  Inatituta  haa  attamptad  to  obtain  tha  baat 
original  copy  availabia  for  ffitming.  Faaturaa  off  thia 
copy  which  may  ba  bibiiographically  uniqua, 
which  may  altar  any  of  tha  imagaa  in  tha 
reproduction,  or  which  may  aignifficantly  change 
the  uauai  method  off  filming,  are  checked  below. 


L'Inatitut  a  microfilm^  la  meilieur  exemplaira 
qu'il  lui  a  AtA  poasibia  da  aa  procurer.  Lea  dMaiia 
da  cat  exemplaira  qui  aont  paut-Atre  uniquea  du 
point  da  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite.  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dana  la  m6thode  normale  de  ffllmaga 
aont  indiqute  ci-deaaoua. 


0 


Coloured  covera/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I     I    Covera  damaged/ 


D 


D 


D 
D 


D 


Couverture  endommagia 

Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurte  et/ou  pelliculAe 


I      I    Cover  title  misaing/ 


La  titre  de  couverture  manque 


□    Coloured  maps/ 
Cartes  gAographiquea  an  couleur 


\ 


Coloured  inic  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encra  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


I     I   Coloured  plataa  and/or  illuatrationa/ 


Planchaa  et/ou  illuatrationa  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
ReliA  avac  d'autrea  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadowa  or  diatortlon 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  re  liura  serrie  peut  cauaar  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
diatortlon  la  long  de  la  marge  intirieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  tha  text.  Whenever  poasibia,  theae 
have  been  omitted  ffrom  filming/ 
II  aa  peut  que  certainea  pagea  blanchea  ajouttea 
lore  d'una  restauratlon  apparaissent  dans  la  texte, 
mala,  Icrsque  cela  Atait  poaaible,  cea  pagea  n'ont 
pea  4t6  filmtea. 


D 
D 
D 
0 
D 
Q 

a 

D 
D 
D 


Coloured  pagea/ 
Pagea  de  couleur 

Pagea  damaged/ 
Pagea  andommag^aa 

Pagea  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pagea  rastaur^aa  et/ou  peiliculAes 

Pagea  discoloured,  atained  or  foxed/ 
Pagea  dAcolortea,  tachattea  ou  piqutea 

Pagea  detached/ 
Pagea  d6tach6es 

Showthrough/ 
Trahaparance 

Quality  of  print  varies/ 
Quality  in^gala  de  I'impreaaion 

Includaa  supplementary  material/ 
Comprend  du  material  auppKmantaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Mition  diaponlble 

Pages  wholly  or  partially  obacured  by  errata 
slips,  tissuea,  etc.,  have  been  reffilmed  to 
enaura  the  beat  poaaible  image/ 
Lea  pagea  tutalement  ou  partiellement 
obacurciaa  par  un  fauillat  d'errata,  una  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  iti  filmtea  A  nouveau  de  ffa^on  A 
obtanir  la  mailleure  image  poaaible. 


D 


Additional  comments:/ 
Commentalraa  aupplAmentairas: 


This  item  is  ffilmeJ  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  eat  ffllmi  au  taux  da  rMuctlon  indiquA  ci-deaaoua. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


2 


12X 


18X 


20X 


28X 


30X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


The  copy  filmed  hare  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

Univtnity  of  Sariutchawan 
Sailcatoon 

The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  Iceeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


L'exemplaire  fiimA  fut  reproduit  grAce  k  la 
gAnirositA  de: 

Univanity  of  SaskatdMwan 
Saikstoon 

Les  images  suivantes  ont  AtA  reproduites  avec  lie 
plus  grand  soin.  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  nettetA  de  l'exemplaire  f ilmA,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  ImprimAe  sont  filmfo  en  commenpant 
par  la  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  film6s  en  commenpant  par  la 
premiere  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  -^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaltra  sur  la 
derniAre  image  de  chaque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  — ►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbols  ▼  signifie  "FIN". 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  Atre 
filmte  A  des  taux  de  rMuctlon  diffArents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clichA,  11  est  film*  A  partir 
de  I'angle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nAcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mAthode. 


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DISCOVERY 


01 


i 


NEW-ENGLAND 


BY  THE  NORTHMEN 


FIVE    HUNDRED   YEARS   BEFORE   COLUMBUS, 


WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION 


ON   THE 

ANTIQUITIES  OF  AMERICA      ND  ON  THE  FIRST  INHAB- 
ITANTS OF  CEN    RAL  AMERICA. 

WITH     IMPORTANT     ADDITIONS. 


A  LECTURE, 


DEUVERED  IN   NEW  YORK,  WASHINGTON,  BOSTON,  AND  OTHER   CITIES: 

ALSO  IN  SOME  OF  THE 

FIRST  LITERARY  INSTITUTIONS  OF  THE  UNION. 


BY  A.   DAVIS, 

FORMERLY  CHAPLAIN  OF  THE  SENATE,  ETC.  NEW  YORK. 


TWELFTH    EDITION. 


ISoston: 

DUTTON    AND    WENTWORTH'S    PRINT. 

Nos.  10  and  13  Exchange  Streei. 


1844. 


,.*t^' 


.t'^K^ikv^Si^-,. 


"BHS^^BH 


TO  THE  PUBLIC 


The  generous  patronage  received  for  the  delivery  of  the  following 
Lecture  leads  to  its  publication.  Though  faint  the  ray  of  knowledge  it 
may  impart,  yet  I  trust  it  will  be  seen,  and  its  benefits  rewarded,  while 
exhibited  in  a  different  medium. 

The  circulation  of  eleven  editions,  shows  that  this  hope  of  success 
has  not  been  disappointed. 

Together  with  original  matter,  the  Lecture  is  a  compilation  from 
various  important  works.  Facts  have  been  obtained  from  the  first 
libraries  in  Boston,  Worcester,  Philadelphia,  Washington  and  George- 
town. 

The  continued  encouragement  received  from  sources  like  the  follow- 
ing,  from  the  distinguished  Ornithologist,  the  pride  and  glory  of  both 
continents,  encourages  me  in  issuing  another  edition  : 

Buffalo,  Netv  York,  Aug.  1st,  1844. 

I  have  read  the  "  Antiquities  of  Central  America  and  the  Discovery 
of  New  England  by  the  Northmen  five  hundred  years  before  Colum- 
bus," by  A.  Davis,  Esq.,  with  extreme  pleasure  and  satisfaction ;  and 
I  feel  much  indebted  to  that  learned  gentleman  for  all  that  he  has  said 
on  this  most  interesting  subject,  in  his  memorable  Lecture,  above  men- 
tioned, and  I  trust  that  it  will  be  as  highly  appreciated  by  all  who  may 
peruse  it  as  by  myself. 

I  take  this  opportunity  to  ofl!er  to  Mr.  Davis  my  sincere  thanks  for 
his  goodness  to  me,  and  have  great  pleasure  in  subscribing  myself  his 
friend  and  respectful  humble  servant, 

John  J.  Audubon. 

To  A.  J) AYis,  formerly  Chaplain  of  the  Senate,  Sfc.  N.  Y. 


i 


INTRODUCTION. 


ANTIQUITIES   OF    AMERICA. 


i 


While  the  beauties  of  the  visible  creation  fade  on  the  eye — while 
all  nature  reposes  under  the  mantle  of  night,  it  is  pleasant  to  leave  the 
haunts  of  business  for  the  lecture-room,  and  to  survey  remote  periods 
under  the  light  of  history. 

The  active  mind  of  man  instinctively  surveys  the  dark  regions  of  the 
past,  and  vould  gladly  break  the  unfathomable  silence  of  the  nations  of 
the  dead,  and  raise  the  veil  where  their  beauty  and  glory  have  slept  for 
ages.  This  strong  desire  to  learn  something  of  those  who  lived  when 
time  was  young,  leads  the  antiquary,  too  often,  to  adopt  groundless 
theories.  But  if  there  are  counterfeit  antiquities,  there  are  those,  also, 
that  are  genuine.  The  present  is  an  age  peculiar  for  developing  the 
latter. 

That  America  was  peopled  by  those  in  advance  of  the  savage  state, 
long  before  any  authentic  accounts  are  given  of  settlements,  is  manifest 
from  nameless  monuments  of  antiquity,  found  in  various  parts. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  the  avaricious  Spaniar'ls  discovered  and 
conquered  Mexico  on  the  North,  and  Peru  and  Chili  on  the  South  of 
Central  America,  in  the  first  place.  But,  at  length,  the  solitude  of  the 
latter  was  broken  ;  and  there  was  discovered  the  "  El  Dorado,"  about 
which  the  whole  Spanish  nation  had  so  long  been  dreaming. 

The  appearance  of  these  ruins  shows  that  a  nation  once  existed 
there,  highly  skilled  in  the  mechanic  arts,  and  in  a  state  of  civilization 
far  beyond  any  thing  that  we  have  been  led  to  believe  of  the  aborigines, 
previous  to  the  time  of  Columbus. 

The  Antiquities  of  America  were  left  in  succession  by  nations  more 
or  less  enlightened.  Central  America  was  probably  the  source  whence 
the  rays  of  light  diverged  in  all  directions.  Such  is  now  becoming  the 
Herculaneum  of  the  Western  World. 

The  first  knowledge  of  the  Ruins  of  Central  America  was  derived 
from  accounts  given  by  straggling  hunters.  In  1787,  the  Spanish  gov- 
ernment sent  out  Del  Rio  to  survey  the  ruins.  Waldeck,  in  1823,  pub- 
lished an  account  of  Rio's  discoveries. 

Capt.  Dupaix  was  sent  on  a  mission  to  Central  America,  in  1805. 
Lord  Kingsborough  gave  an  account  of  Dupaix's  discoveries.  William 
H.  Prescott,  Esq.,  of  Boston,  has  the  work  of  Lord  K.  It  is  as  splen- 
did as  it  is  expensive ;  and  it  presents  very  beautiful  and  striking  views 
of  buildings  and  likenesses  of  the  inhabitants. 


4  A    LECTURE    ON    THE 

Waldeck  visited  the  So\itli  in  1832.  Among  the  hieroglyphics  he 
thinks  he  has  decyphered  an  account  of  the  reign  of  eleven  queens. 

The  late  Gov.  Galindo,  of  Peten,  in  Central  America,  has  corres- 
ponded with  the  late  Lieut.  Gov.  VVinthrop,  Boston,  n  lative  to  the  an- 
tidnities  of  lliat  region.  For  ilie  great  discoveries  made,  he  has  received 
a  premium  from  one  of  the  literary  societies  of  Europe. 

He,  in  speaking  of  one  of  the  cities  in  the  vicinity  of  Palenque,  says 
that  a  gigantic  Massica,  or  bread-fruit  tree,  grows  on  one  of  the  altars 
encircling  it  with  its  powerful  roots.  The  most  remarkable  trees  grow- 
ing over  the  ruins,  are,  the  Mahogany,  Cedar,  Chocolate,  &c.  One  of 
the  squares  of  the  city  is  surrounded  with  six  handsome  obelisks,  the 
highest  of  which  is  more  than  six  yards  high.  They  all  bear,  in  basso 
relievo,  gigantic  figures.     One  temple  has  eighty  such  figures. 

The  temple  of  Copan  was  653  feet  by  524  feet  in  dimensions.  It 
must  have  been  as  large  as  St.  Peter's  Church  in  Rome.  Let  us  gaze 
on  this  mighty  structure,  for  our  instruction.  It  stands  as  a  landmark 
on  the  broad  field  of  time — it  reminds  us  of  the  remote  origin  of  a  great 
empire.  Centuries  must  have  rolled  away — dynasties  must  have  suc- 
ceeded each  other,  before  orders  of  architecture  were  introduced  ;  and 
a  long  time  must  have  elapsed  before  an  empire  would  become  so  lux- 
urious as  to  erect  the  stupendous  temple  of  Copan. 

Among  the  vast  pile  of  ruins,  is  found  an  architrave  of  black  gran- 
ite, finely  cut.  Six  granite  columns  are  seen,  each  of  a  single  piece, 
seventeen  feet  high  and  three  feet  in  diameter. 

The  Mayon  architecture  in  Yucatan  is  said  to  be  superior  to  that  of 
Palenque.     It  is  wrought  in  stone,  and  finished  with  great  elegance. 

Gen.  Santa  Anna  says,  that  the  antiquities  of  Central  America  are 
worthy  of  being  placed  in  parallel  with  the  pyramids  of  Egypt. 

Palenque,  which  lies  240  miles  from  Tobasco,  lat.  17°  N.,  is  among 
the  most  remarkable  cities  of  the  South.  Palenque  is  a  Castilian  word, 
and  means  "  lists  for  fighting." 

This  city  has  emphatically  been  called  the  Thebes  of  America.  In 
surveying  its  ruins,  the  traveller  is  led  to  believe  that  it  was  founded  at 
as  early  a  period  as  the  renowned  cities  of  Egypt. 

How  immense  this  city  !  It  is  supposed  to  have  been  sixty  miles  in 
circumference,  and  that  it  contained  a  population  of  nearly  three 
millions. 

Palenque,  lying  about  one  thousand  miles  from  Mexico,  and  being 
elevated  five  thousand  feet  above  the  ocean,  enjoyed  a  climate  almost 
unequalled  for  its  pleasantness.  The  natural  beauty  of  the  scenery 
was  unrivalled,  the  soil  rich  and  fertile  beyond  any  other  portion  of 
the  globe. 

One  of  the  principal  structures  revealed  to  the  eye  of  the  antiquarian, 
is  the  Teoculi,  or  temple.  Its  style  of  architecture  resembles  the 
Gothic.  It  is  rude,  massive,  and  durable.  Though  resembling  the 
Egyptian  edifices,  also,  yet  this  and  the  other  buildings  are  peculiar, 
and  are  different  from  all  others  hitherto  known. 

The  entrance  to  this  temple  is  on  the  east  side,  by  a  portico  more 
than  one  hundred  feet  in  length,  and  nine  broad.  The  rectangular 
pillars  of  the  portico  have  their  architraves  adorned  with  stucco  work 


-^'m'-^'m 


^- 


^ 


DISCOVERY   OF   AMEBICA. 


of  shields  and  other  devices.  The  temple  stands  on  an  elevation  of 
sixty  feet.  Among  the  ruins,  different  objects  of  worship  have  been 
found  ;  and,  in  particular,  an  idol  of  pure  gold,  about  six  inches  long. 
Amid  this  wilderness  of  ruins  are  now  to  be  seen  fourteen  large  stono 
buildings,  with  many  of  their  apartments  in  good  condition. 

The  antiquity  of  this  city  is  manifest,  not  only  from  its  nameless 
hieroglyphics  and  other  objects,  but  from  the  age  of  some  of  the  trees 
growing  over  buildings  where  once  the  hum  of  industry  and  the  voice 
of  merriment  were  heard.  The  concentric  circles  of  some  of  these 
trees  were  counted,  which  showed  that  they  were  more  than  900  years 
of  age. 

Similar  beautiful  and  majestic  ruins  to  those  named  above,  are  found 
along  the  coast  of  California.  Humboldt  visited  a  splendid  building, 
800  miles  from  Mexico,  that  forty  years  since  was  seven  stories  high. 
The  Spaniards  have  demolished  it  mostly,  to  get  materials  for  building 
dwellings  and  sugar-houses.  Have  not  the  vandals  of  the  New  World 
made  desolation  more  desolate  .'' 

Mr.  Stephens's  new  work  on  "  Central  America,"  confirms  the  state- 
ments of  other  travellers,  while  it  heightens  our  wonder  by  the  graphic 
description  of  the  ruins  of  the  desolate  cities,  especially  of  those  found 
in  Copan  and  Palenque.  There,  he  says,  "  architecture,  sculpture, 
painting,  and  all  the  arts  that  embellish  life,  had  flourished  in  an  over- 
grown forest." 

Among  the  specimens  of  the  arts,  he  found  massive  obelisks,  bearing 
on  their  sides  sculptured  images  and  medallion  tablets — large  altars 
ornamented  with  hieroglyphics,  giving  a  record  of  those  who  reared 
them — splendid  temples  adorned  with  human  figures,  executed  in  stucco 
and  bas-relief — walls  built  of  hewn  stone.  The  specimens  of  sculpture 
equalled  any  thing  he  saw  in  Egypt. 

In  his  second  work  he  says,  "  These  ruins  are  skeletons  rising  from 
their  graves,  wrapped  in  their  shrouds,  claiming  no  affinity  with  the 
works  of  any  known  people."  Long  will  these  works  of  art  stand  alone 
in  majesty  and  beauty, 

"  And  gorgeous  as  the  sun  at  midsummer." 

The  Chevalier  Frederichal,  attache  of  the  Austrian  legation,  lately 
spent  nine  months  at  the  South.  He  found,  in  a  place  hitherto  untrod 
by  modern  travellers,  a  majestic  group  of  pillars.  There  were  ten 
rows,  and  in  each  row  there  were  forty-eight  columns.  With  his  da- 
guerreotype apparatus,  he  took  a  great  number  of  excellent  impres- 
sions. From  these,  when  magnified,  he  has  made  drawings,  which 
show  the  original,  by  their  richness,  elegance  and  finish,  to  be  the  work 
of  a  highly  cultivated  people.  It  is  natural  that  we  should  linger  around 
these  inanimate  objects.  They  remind  us  of  splendid  cities  that,  like 
Troy,  once  "  were."  But,  above  all,  they  tell  us  of  the  illustrious  of 
other  days.  What  are  ruins  to  us,  but  as  they  remind  us  of  the  enter- 
prise and  wisdom  of  those  who  reared  them  ?  What  were  Carthage 
without  the  recollection  of  ill-fated  Dido,  or  the  daring  deeds  of  Hanni- 
bal ?  And  what  will  Mount  Vernon  be  centuries  hence,  but  as  it  will 
remind  our  posterity  of  the  valor,  patriotism  and  virtues  of  the  Father 
of  our  Republic  ? 


6 


A    LECTURE    ON    THE 


The  monumental  history  of  Central  America  tolls  ud  that  this  is  not 
a  new  world.  And  we  wake  with  astonishment,  that  there  was  once  the 
seat  of  a  great  empire,  before  David  reigned  over  the  twelve  tribes  of 
Israel,  or  Octavius  waved  his  sceptre  over  the  civilized  world  ! 

But,  alas  !  the  founders  of  cities  as  magnificent  as  those  that  adorned 
the  banks  of  the  Nile,  have  vanished  like  the  generations  before  the 
flood. 

"  Every  house  is  builded  by  some  man  ;"  but  who  erected  the  splen- 
did temples  of  Palenque,  none  can  tell,  save  "  He  who  made  all  thirigs." 
Unnumbered  centuries  have  passed  away  since  the  noonday  of  Paleii- 
cian  glory.  There  the  wing  of  endless  night  broods  over  all  that  was 
once  beautiful  and  grand — 

"  Where  senates  nncc  the  weal  of  nations  planned, 
Hisscth  the  eliding  snake,  through  hoary  weeds 
1  hat  clasp  the  moulde''ing  columns." 

I  have  seen  an  original  representation,  in  stucco,  of  the  following 
Palencian  head,  in  the  possession  of  Professor  Dod,  Princeton  College  : 


lit 


Shade  of  Spurz- 
heim,  tell,  if  thou 
canst,  what  qual- 
ities such  a  form- 
ed head  as  this, 
implies. 


This  helmet  is 
said  to  resemble 
those  described 
by  Homer. 


Oh !  that  some  mighty  genius  like  that  of  Belzoni,  would  arise  and 
remove,  from  this  city  of  the  world  called  new,  the  veil  that  conceals 
its  origin. 

It  is  supposed  that  this  city  was  destroyed  by  some  internal  convul- 
sion, or,  liive  those  of  the  South  of  Europe,  was  overwhelmed  by  the 
barbarians  of  the  North. 

Possibly,  famine  or  pestilence  might  have  desolated  that  fair  region. 


DISCOVERY   OF    AMERICA. 


nd 

als 

ul- 
the 

on. 


It  is  not  singular  that  it  should  have  been  concealed  from  view  for 
ages,  when  we  recollect  that  cities  of  the  Eastern  continent  have,  in 
like  manner,  remained  in  oblivion  till  of  late.  We  allude  to  the  ruins 
of  Paestum,  in  Campania,  of  Italy,  and  those  of  Petra  of  Idumea,  in 
Asia.  A  new  forest  hid  for  centuries — the  former  from  the  degene- 
rate sons  of  Rome,  while  the  splendid  structures  of  Petra  were  known 
only  to  Bedouins  for  over  a  thousand  years.  Who  does  not  delight  to 
read  about  the  roses  of  Pajstum !  Yet  they  still  unfold  their  inimitable 
petals  amid  the  ruins  of  palaces,  and  beside  dilapidated  temples. 

Do  we  admire  the  boundless  forests,  the  lofty  mountains,  and  the 
majest'c  rivers  of  our  hemisphere  ?  The  vast  wilderness  of  ruins, 
once  enlivened  by  intelligent  beings,  should  demand  a  higher  claim  to 
our  admiration. 

The  antiquities  of  America  stretch  from  the  great  lakes  of  the 
North  and  West,  to  Central  America  and  the  Southern  parts  of  Peru 
on  the  South  ;  from  the  Alleghany  mountains  on  the  East,  to  the 
Rocky  mountains  on  the  West  ;  and  even  from  the  Pacific  to  the 
Atlantic  ocean. 

The  Mexicans  hold  the  next  place  on  the  scale  of  civilization  to  the 
Central  Americans. 

The  Toltecs  probably  came  into  Anahauc,  or  the  vale  of  Mexico, 
the  beginning  of  ihe  seventh  century.  They  flourished  four  centuries 
and  suddenly  disappeared.  They  were  an  enlightened  and  amiable 
people.  Though  pagans,  they  did  not,  like  the  Aztecs,  who  took  pes- 
session  of  the  country  in  1325,  offer  up  human  sacrifices. 

Although  the  Aztecs,  or  Mexicans,  excelled  in  astronomy,  architec- 
ture, the  fine  arts,  agriculture,  legislation,  jurisprudence,  and  the  dis- 
play of  many  of  those  social  virtues  that  dignify  humanity,  yet  their 
theology  cast  a  dark  shade  over  all  the  attractions  their  history  other- 
wise displays. 

They  believed  in  one  Supreme  God,  in  thirteen  subordinate  deities, 
and  in  over  two  hundred  inferior  ones.  The  god  who  received  most 
devotion  was  Mars,  their  god  of  war.  On  his  altar  human  victims 
bled.  To  this  Moloch  of  the  West  twenty  thousand  victims  at  least 
were  offered  annually !  The  Aztecs  were  cannibals.  Such  is  man 
where  he  sees  not  the  attributes  of  God  in  the  "  things  that  are  made." 
Yes,  all  nature  is  but  the  reflection  of  the  True  God.  The  modest 
violet,  fresh  from  the  sleep  of  winter,  tells  him  the  .  is  a  God,  ar.  1  that 
He  is  great  and  good.  (See  Rom.  1:20.)  No  crht  but  tlie  bright 
beams  of  the  "  Sun  of  Righteousness "  can  dis^pate  the  darkness 
with  which  man  has  enshrouded  his  moral  nature. 

Remarkable  was  the  progress  of  the  Mexicans  in  the  science  of 
Astronomy.  Their  year  was  divided  into  eighteen  months  of  twenty 
days  each,  and  five  unlucky  days.  As  the  year  is  composed  of  nearly 
six  hours  more  than  three  hundred  sixty-five  days,  there  still  remained 
an  excess,  which  they  provided  for  by  intercalation.  At  the  expiration 
of  fifty-two  years,  the  end  of  a  cycle,  they  interposed  twelve  and  a 
half  days,  the  number  which  had  fallen  in  arrear.  Time  was  marked 
on  their  calendar  stones  with  as  much  accuracy  as  is  evinced  by  the 
modern  improvements  of  astronomy  into  two  minutes  and  nine  seconds 


8 


A    LKCTURE    ON    THE 


in  the  year.  I  have  seen  in  the  Museum  of  Mexican  Antiquities,  be- 
longing to  the  Philosophical  Society,  Philadelphia,  a  beautiful  repre- 
sentation of  the  large  calendar  stone  to  be  seen  in  the  city  of  Mexico. 

How  magnificent  must  have  been  that  temple  in  Mexico,  at  whose 
altars  five  thousand  priests  officiated.  But  the  city  of  Tezcuco,  on  the 
opposite  shore  of  the  lake,  was  still  the  seat  of  a  higher  advance  in 
civilization  than  was  displayed  in  Mexico.  It  was  the  capital  of  a 
splendid  kingdom  of  the  same  name.  It  was  the  Athens  of  the  West- 
ern World.  The  king  erected  a  magnificent  pile  of  buildings.  It  ex- 
tended from  east  to  west  1234  yards,  and  from  north  to  south  978.  In- 
nume  'able  were  the  attractions  that  met  the  eye  on  wandering  through 
the  courts  of  this  majestic  structure. 

As  walls  'ncrusted  with  alabasters  and  richly  tinted  stucco,  tapestries 
of  variegated  feather  work,  gardens  with  baths,  and  sparkling  fountains 
overshadowed  by  groves  of  cypress  and  cedar. 

Much  has  been  learned  in  relation  to  Mexican  history,  but  much  must 
remain  forever  concealed,  as  the  first  Archbishop  of  Mexico  caused  a 
mountainous  pile  to  be  made  of  the  MSS.  of  that  country  and  ordered 
them  to  be  burnt  ip  the  market  place.  Such  was  the  loss  effected  by 
the  Omar  of  the  ^  /est. 

Vie  know  less  of  the  antiquities  of  South  America  than  of  those 
further  north.  Those  that  have  been  recorded  show  a  people  far  ad- 
vanced in  civilization. 

The  antiquities  of  North  America  are  quite  different  from  those  fur- 
ther south, — consisting  of  Fortifications,  Mounds,  Pottery,  Metallic  In- 
struments, &c.  They  must  have  been  left  by  intelligent  nations  at  an 
early  period.  This  is  evident  from  the  remark  of  the  late  President 
Harrison.  He  observes,  that  it  would  take  the  trees  growing  where  a 
forest  was  cut  down  fifty  years  since,  five  hundred  years  to  equal  in 
height  the  surrounding  woods,  and  that  a  forest  of  the  largest  trees  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami,  consisting  of  fifteen  acres,  covers  the 
ruins  left  by  former  races. 

First  Inhabitants  of  America. — We  will  not  say,  as  the  Atheni- 
ans said  of  their  nation,  that  the  first  inhabitants  of  America  were  cre- 
ated when  ti  e  sun  was  first  lit  up  in  the  sky  ;  but  we  must  presume 
they  early  reached  this  continent  from  the  old  world. 

The  learned  Dr.  Clarke  says,  that  the  continents  we. a  once  united  ; 
but  that,  by  the  force  of  winds  and  waves,  the  isthmuses  were  broken 
up  and  formed  into  islands  along  the  coasts.  Easy,  however,  is  the 
transition  from  the  East  to  the  West,  by  the  way  of  Bhering's  straits, 
when  we  consider  that  they  are  only  thirteen  leagues  wide. 

Adverse  winds  also  might  have  driven  the  frail  vessels  of  the  an- 
cients to  the  region  lying  on  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  and  elsewhere. 

But,  as  tropicul  animals  found  in  America  could  not  have  crossed 
over  by  Bhering's  straits,  when  frozen,  they  must  have  come  by  land 
that  once  extended  from  Asia  or  Africa  to  America,  in  the  torrid  zone. 
Should  It  be  asked  why  certain  animals,  as  the  horse  and  the  cow,  not 
found  originally  on  this  continent,  did  not  cross  by  this  continuous 
range  of  lands,  we  answer,  because  the  original  continent  was  divided, 


DISCOVERY    OF   AMERICA. 


an- 


as  possibly  in  tita  days  of  Peleg,  (Gen.  10,  25,)  before  such  animals 
had  an  opportunity  to  migrate. 

I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  the  land  that  united  the  now  two  conti- 
nents, was  the  Atlantis  spoken  of  by  Plato,  Homer,  and  Ilesiod.  Plato 
saw  an  account  of  this  land  which  disappeared,  in  the  hieroglyphics  of 
Egypt.  I  saw  "n  the  Jesuit's  College,  Georgetown,  an  important  arti- 
cle on  this  subject.  It  was  stated  that  there  were  the  remains  of  a 
sunken  tract  of  land  once  lying  between  Brazil  and  Africa — that  such 
are  seen  also  in  the  islands  of  Cape  Verd  and  Ascension,  and  others 
— and  in  the  numerous  sandbanks  observed  by  Bauche  in  particular, 
who  sounded  that  part  of  the  Atlantic  with  great  accuracy. 

I  think  from  the  plains  of  Shinar,  men  and  animals  diverged  in  all 
directions.  As  it  is  said  in  Gen.  11,  8,  "  So  the  Lord  dcattered  them 
from  thence  upon  the  face  of  all  the  earth." 

As  the  Europeans  on  coming  here  found  no  animals  peculiar  to  the 
Eastern  Continent,  I  think  only  a  part  of  the  various  species  preserved 
by  Noah  migrated  West.  Those  left  behind  ever  remained  different 
from  those  found  in  the  New  World  by  the  Spaniards.  If  this  idea  is 
new  to  others,  1  hope  it  may  be  considered  more  reasonable  than  the 
infidel  opinion,  that  men  and  animals  were  distinct  creations  here  from 
those  of  Asia. 

Think  you  they  would  have  transported  venomous  serpents  from  the 
old  to  the  new  world  ? 

Ogilby,  Cosmographer  to  the  English  sovereign,  1671,  thinks  that 
men  and  animals  came,  immediately  after  the  flood,  from  Armenia  to 
Tartary  ;  and  from  the  latter  place  to  this  continent,  by  a  continuous 
range  of  land  extending  from  Asia  to  America  by  Bhering's  straits. 

I  think  with  Georgii  Hornii,  who  published  his  views,  1629,  in  a 
Latin  book,  that  this  migration  to  this  continent  took  place  immediately 
after  the  confusion  of  tongues  at  Babel. 

By  this  primitive  people,  the  cities  of  the  South  rose  probably  simul- 
taneously  with  those  that  adorned  the  banks  of  the  Nile. 

The  traces  of  an  extinct  race  of  men  about  nine  feet  in  length,  are 
to  be  found  in  various  parts,  as  in  Ohio,  Kentucky,  Pennsylvania, 
Rhode  Island,  and  New  York, 

And  is  it  strange  it  should  have  been  said  in  the  Sacred  volume — 
"  And  there  were  giants  in  those  days  ?" 

The  lights  of  science  and  revelation  commingle,  forming  one  broad 
stream  of  light,  that  is  not  lost  but  amid  the  radiance  that  encircles  the 
throne  of  the  Eternal. 

The  eyas  of  mankind,  from  the  time  of  Pythagoras,  have  been 
turned  to  the  West,  in  the  anticipation  that  here  new  discoveries  were 
to  be  made  ;  and  hither  were  the  adventurous  at  length  led. 

It  ip  possible  that  the  Northmen,  as  well  as  those  of  earlier  times, 
had  heard  of  a  Western  world, 

Seneca,  Diodorus  Siculus,  and  Aristotle,  speak  of  regions  beyond 
the  Atlantic      Plato  says  he  saw  an  account  in  the  hieroglyphics  of 
Egypt,  of  a  large  tract  of  land,  Atlantis,  thai  once  lay  West  of  the 
straits  of  Gibraltar. 
2 


I 


10 


A    LECTURE    ON    THE 


It  is  thought  Virgil  alludes,  in  the  following  lines,  to  places  West. 
In  speaking  of  Augustus,  he  says  that — 

"  He  shall  his  power  to  India  extend, 
Bey  Olid  llie  annual  circle,  and  bej  "nd 
The  sun's  loi;g  progress,  where  great  Atlas  bears. 
Laden  with  golden  stars,  the  gliitcr'ng  spheres." 

First  known  Discoverers  of  America. — It  is  thought  Biarne  was 
accidentally  driven  by  fierce  winds  on  the  coast  of  Newfoundland,  be- 
fore Lief  sailed  to  the  West. 

The  discovery  of  America  by  the  Norlhrnen,  excites  a  vast  deal  of 
curiosity.  And  is  it  not  a  laudable  curiosity  that  leads  one  to  ascertain 
what  white  men  first  trod  regions  in  which  the  modest  wild  flower 
wasted  its  sweetness  on  the  desert  air  ? 

As  Geography  is  ore  of  the  eyes  of  History,  it  would  be  well,  8t  this 
time,  to  direct  the  attention  to  the  map  of  North  America,  and  to  those 
of  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  island  in  particular. 

The  Royal  Society  of  Northern  Antiquarians  in  Copenhagen,  have 
lately  published  an  important  work.  While  the  contents  of  this  mas- 
sive work  are  invaluable,  its  mechanical  execution  reflects  great  honor 
on  the  Society  that  published  it. 

This  work  is  called,  as  translated  from  the  Latin,  "  American  An- 
tiquities, or  Northern  Writings  of  Things  in  America  before  the  time 
of  Columbus." 

The  determination  was  formed  some  years  since,  by  the  Royal  So- 
ciety of  Antiquarians  in  Copenhagen,  to  publish  the  authorities  on 
which  these  accounts  rest,  in  the  original  documents,  accompanied  with 
full  commentaries  and  illustrations.     The  text  is  in  the  Icelandic  tongue. 

The  inquiry  is  often  made,  "  Who  were  the  Northmen  ?"  They 
were  the  descendants  of  the  Scandinavians,  who,  it  is  thought,  sprang 
from  the  Tnracians  mentioned  by  Homer — a  nation  now  extinct.  The 
Danes,  the  Swedes,  the  Norwegians,  and  the  Icelanders,  all  come  under 
the  name  of  Northmen  or  Norsemen.  Their  literature  has  been  com- 
pared, in  extent,  to  the  literary  remains  of  Greece  and  Latium.  This 
opens  a  new  fountain  of  research,  where  the  scholar  may  often 

"  Return  and  linger,  linger  nnd  return." 

This  great  work  contains  two  Icelandic  documents,  now  for  Xhejlrst 
time  published  accurately,  in  a  complete  form,  purporting  to  be  histo- 
ries written  by  or  for  persons  who  discovered  and  visited  the  North 
American  coast  early  in  the  eleventh  century,  confirmed  and  illustrated 
by  extracts  froni  no  less  than  fifVeen  other  original  manuscripts,  in 
which  the  facts  set  forth  in  these  histories  are  either  mentioned  or  allu- 
ded to.  The  Royal  Society  has  already  collected  two  thousand  Sagas, 
or  works  of  Scandinavian  or  Icelandic  history. 

In  this  work,  in  particular,  is  found  Adam  of  Bremen's  account  of 
the  discovery  of  America,  communicated  to  him  in  the  eleventh  centu- 
ry, by  Sweyn  Estrithson,  king  of  Denmark. 

1.  Are  these  documents  genuine  ? 

2.  If  so,  why  have  they  not  been  heard  of  before  ? 

The  work,  itself,  contains  evidences  of  the  antiquity  and  authenticity 


it; 


DISCOVEKY   OP  AMERICA. 


11 


of  the  manuscripts,  from  which  the  publication  has  been  made,  suffi- 
cient to  raise  them  above  any  just  suspicion. 

These  documents,  as  Professor  Rafn  says,  have  been  known  to  Ice- 
landic scholars ;  but  these  have  been  so  few,  comparatively,  and  the 
means  of  these  few  so  limited,  that  they  have  not  been  able  to  give 
them  suitable  examination,  much  less  to  be  at  the  expense  of  publish- 
ing them. 

How  long  did  the  ancient  classics,  for  instance,  lay  concealed  in  the 
monasteries  of  Europe,  for  the  want  of  some  one  to  exhibit  them  to 
public  view  ?  These  Icelandic  documents  may  have  been  hid,  in  like 
manner,  in  the  libraries  of  priests.  And  we  may  say  that  the  Society 
of  Antiquarians,  in  Copenhagen,  in  bringing  these  documents  to  light, 
losembles  the  conduct  of  the  poet  laureate,  Petrarch,  in  the  fourteenth 
century,  who,  at  his  own  expense,  had  the  valuable  manuscripts  of  an- 
tiquity dragged  from  the  dust  of  the  cloisters,  transcribed,  and  exhibit- 
ed to  the  world. 

Who  does  not  admire  the  lovely  scenery,  where  the  beautiful  and 
sublime  are  blended,  displayed  in  the  succession  of  Falls  at  Trenton  ? 
Yet  these  were  concealed  for  ages,  till  a  master-spirit  revealed  them  to 
an  admiring  world.  And  does  not  the  raven  wing  of  night  hide  the 
works  of  art,  also,  till  disclosed  in  a  similar  way  .''  The  learned  of 
Iceland,  though,  like  the  generality  of  poets,  poor  ;  yet  they  were  not 
disposed,  like  Milton,  to  sell  their  manuscripts  for  a  paltry  sum. 

It  is  well  known  the  Norwegians  have  long  claimed  the  honor  of  dis- 
covering and  colonizing  America  before  the  time  of  Columbus. 

Instead  of  this  discovery  being  a  new-fangled  theory,  as  some  say, 
there  have  been  several  works  published  in  Europe,  upwards  of  a  cen- 
tury, which  speak  of  these  facts.  Wormius  speaks  of  this  discovery, 
in  a  Latin  translation,  published  at  the  University  of  Oxford,  in  or 
about  1716.  In  Adam  of  Bremen's  account,  published  1629,  he  uses 
the  following  striking  language  :  "  Non  fabulosa  opinione,  sed  certa  re- 
latione Danorum  ;"  that  is,  in  a  free  translation,  "  This  is  not  a  fabu- 
lous opinion,  but  a  true  narrative,  given  by  the  Danes  themselves." 
Dr.  Franklin,  in  a  letter  to  a  distinguished  antiquary  formerly  of  Swit- 
zerland, aays, positively,  that  the  Danes  came  into  New-England  before 
the  time  of  Columbus.  Dr.  Mather  published  an  account,  also,  of  this 
discovery,  in  1772.' 

The  celebrated  Dr.  Henderson,  who  travelled  in  Iceland,  says  that 
the  fact  of  this  early  discovery  was  well  known  to  the  Icelanders — that 
it  was  authenticated  by  Northern  historians.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact, 
that  Iceland,  where  these  documents  relating  to  the  early  discovery 
were  preserved,  were  the  Athens  of  the  North,  during  the  Dark  Ages. 

During  tho  Middle  Ages,  the  Icelanders  were  the  most  intelligent 
people  in  the  North.  Even  now,  as  Henderson  says,  youth  can  repeat 
passages  from  Latin  and  Greek  authors,  who  have  never  been  but  a 
few  miles  from  tho  place  of  their  birlh.  Truly,  the  hardy  Icelanders 
were  our  librarians  and  historians. 

Iceland  appears  to  have  b3en  a  medium  of  communication  between 
Norway  and  Greenland, — a  stepping-stone,  as  it  were,  from  one  conti- 
nent to  another. 


12 


A  L£ctt;ee  on  the 


I 


h  '! 


ii 


Iceland,  thought  by  some  to  be  the  "  Ultima  Thule"  of  Virgil,  was 
discovered  by  the  Norwegians  in  861.  The  oppression  of  king  Harold 
Harfaga  drove  them  there  for  an  asylum. 

But  the  restless  spirit  of  the  Northmen  would  not  allow  them  to  be 
idle.  They  made  incursions  in  every  direction,  and  discovered  Green- 
land in  984. 

In  986,  a  colony  was  begun  by  Eric  the  Red.  This  was  at  length 
destroyed.  By  the  exertions  of  the  Danish  Society,  the  ruins  of  this 
settlement  have  been  discovered.  It  was  located  on  the  West,  near 
Cape  Farwell.     It  is  seen  in  the  remains  of  churches  and  buildings. 

Leif,  the  son  of  Eric,  commenced  a  voyage  of  discovery,  in  the  yiear 
1000.  His  crew  consisted  of  thirty-five  men.  Leif  was  the  first  to 
introduce  missionaries  into  Greenland. 

After  sailing  for  some  time  south-west,  they  made  land.  They  an- 
chored and  went  ashore.  This  place  was  destitute  of  grass,  and  was 
covered  with  a  slaty  rock,  which  they  called  Helluland.  This  is  sup- 
posed to  be  Labrador.  Fishermen  and  travellers  of  the  present  day 
give  a  like  description  of  that  barren  region. 

Fiom  thence  they  sailed  southwardly  ;  and,  after  holding  on  for  some 
time,  they  again  made  land  and  went  ashore.  This  country  was  level, 
had  a  low  coast,  presenting,  here  and  there,  blufifs  of  white  sand,  and 
was  thickly  covered  with  wood.  This  they  named  Markland  or  Wood- 
land.    This  is  thought  to  be  Nova  Scotia. 

Leaving  Markland,  they  sailed  south-westerly,  with  a  fair  wind,  two 
days  before  seeing  land  again,  when  they  passed  down  a  promontory, 
probably  the  east  side  of  Cape  Cod,  stretching  easl  and  north ;  and 
then  turning  west  between  an  island,  (Martha's  Vineyard)  and  the  main 
land,  they  entered  a  bay  (Narragansett  Bay)  through  which  a  river 
(Taunton  River)  flowed,  when  they  came  to  anchor  and  went  ashore. 
Resolving  to  spend  the  winter  here,  they  called  the  place  Leifsbuthir, 
or  place  of  booths.  Here,  finding  grapes  very  plenty,  they  called  the 
place  Vinland  or  Wineland  the  good.  This  land,  to  those  coming  from 
the  remote  North,  appeared  as  nature  in  the  "  world's  first  spring." 

Early  in  the  season  they  returned  to  Greenland.  Leif 's  return  be- 
came the  principal  subject  of  conversation. 

The  next  adventurer  was  Thcrwold,  his  brother.  And  you  will  ob- 
serve that  he  and  the  other  navigators  gave  the  same  account  of  places 
they  visited.  Were  not  this  the  case,  who  could  believe  any  of  their 
reports  ? 

Thorwold,  thinking  the  country  had  not  been  sufficiently  explored, 
set  sail  in  1002,  and  proceeded  to  Leifsbuthir,  where  he  lived  till  1004. 

In  the  spring  of  1004,  he  sailed  from  Leifsbuthir.  After  passing 
along  the  shore  of  the  promontory,  east  and  north,  they  sailed  round  a 
sharp  point  of  land,  called  Kjarlanes.  This  must  have  been  Cape  Cod. 
Kjarlanes  implies  Keel-cape.  For  Cape  Cod,  at  the  extremity,  is  in 
shape  of  the  keel  of  ancient  vessels,  which  curved  inward. 

These  Northmen  were  peaceable  men.  They  were  not  like  Photon, 
who  gladly  would  have  seized  the  reins  of  the  chariot  of  the  sun  to  set 
the  world  on  fire.  It  must  not  be  denied,  however,  that  the  second  great 
navigator,  Thorwold,  assailed  the  natives  without  cause  ;   but  in  using 


it      i 


w 


DISCOVERT  OF   ilMEBlCA. 


13 


the  sword  he  perished  by  the  sword.  On  receiving  a  mortal  wound, 
he  requested  that,  after  his  death,  crosses  might  be  placed  at  either  end 
of  his  grave. 

The  Catholic  ministers,  in  giving  an  account  of  their  first  missionary 
labors  in  this  country,  speak  of  the  custom  of  the  natives  in  wearing 
crosses.     Such  must  have  been  introduced  by  the  Northmen  Christians. 

I  mentioned  this  circumstance,  lately,  to  the  librarian  of  the  Ameri- 
can Antiquarian  Society,  Worcester ;  and  he  said  that  a  cross  had  been 
sent  to  that  institution  by  a  gentleman  of  Ohio.  I  saw  this  emblem  of 
the  Christian  faith.  It  must  have  been  hid  from  the  light  of  heaven  for 
centuries.  This  silver  cross  is  about  two  and  a  half  inches  long.  It 
was  found  on  the  breast  of  a  female  skeleton,  one  which  was  dug  from 
a  mound  at  Columbus,  over  which  a  forest  of  trees  had  grown.  On  this 
cross  the  capital  letters  I.  S.  are  perfectly  visible.  And  what  can  these 
letters  imply,  but  the  initials  of  the  sacred  name,  Iestjs  Salvator  ? 

Who  can  doubt,  then,  that  the  "  Sun  of  Righteousness "  cast  his 
bright  beams  on  the  land  west  of  the  dread  Atlantic,  long  before  the 
time  of  Columbus  ? 

In  1006,  Thorfins  or  Thorfin  commanded  one  of  the  three  ships  that 
came  from  Iceland  to  Greenland.     He  was  of  royal  lineage. 

In  the  spring  of  1007,  Thorfin,  with  three  ships  and  one  hundred 
and  sixty  men,  besides  cattle  and  all  necessary  materials  for  establish- 
ing a  colony,  set  sail  for  Vinland. 

They  sailed  to  Helluiand  or  Labrador  ;  from  thence  to  Markland  or 
Nova  Scotia ;  and  from  thence  to  Kjarlanes,  or  Cape  Cod.  Sailing 
south  by  the  east  side  of  the  promontory  which  terminated  at  Kjar- 
lanes, they  passed  along  beaches  or  trackless  deserts  of  sand.  How 
descriptive  of  this  bleak  and  sterile  coast ! 

Those  who  have  sailed  from  Boston  to  Narragansett  Bay,  are  ready 
to  say  that  I  am  not  drawing  an  ideal  picture. 

Continuing  their  course  they  arrived  at  an  island.  They  called  it 
Shaumey.  This  is  supposed  to  be  Martha's  Vineyard.  Nine  men 
Went  away  in  one  of  the  ships  and  never  returned.  It  is  said  they 
were  driven  on  the  coast  of  Ireland,  where  they  were  seized  as  slaves. 

In  the  spring,  Thorfin  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  others  went  to  the 
main  land.  They  callnd  the  place  Hop,  the  residence  afterwards  of 
king  Philip,  Here  they  found  large  numbers  of  skrellings  or  natives. 
Thorfin  carried  on  a  traffic  with  them,  by  exchanging  bits  of  colored 
cloth  for  furs.  In  consequence  of  their  frequent  attacks,  in  1009 
they  returned  to  Greenland.  Then,  it  will  be  recollected,  the  North- 
men had  not  the  use  of  fire-arms  with  which  to  defend  themselves 
against  the  assaults  of  the  savages.  These  lords  of  the  wilds  had  a 
rude  kind  of  engine,  by  which  they  hurled  large  stones  against  their 
foes  ;  and  it  is  possible  that  the  white  man  would  never  have  driven 
the  red  man  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  but  for  the  in- 
vention of  gunpowder. 

I  cannot  forbear  to  speak  of  the  valor  of  one  of  this  crew  of  the 
Northmen,  a  female.  When  all  the  rest  were  disposed  to  flee  before 
the  savage  foe,  she  exclaimed  :  ''  If  I  only  had  a  weapon,  I  ween  I 
could  fight  better  than  any  of  you."     Ah  !  when  we  consider  the  pa- 


14 


A   LECTURE   ON   THE 


il 


ft 


8| 


triotism  of  the  females  at  the  seige  of  Carthage,  who  cut  their  locks  to 
make  ropes  for  engines  of  war ;  and  when  we  recollect  the  cour- 
age of  Isabella  of  Castile,  who,  at  the  conquest  of  Grenada,  though  in 
ill  health,  led  on  her  veterans  to  conquest  and  glory,  have  we  not  rea- 
son  to  suppose  that  this  Scandinavian  was  sincere  in  her  declaration  ? 
Truly,  valor  and  benevolence  are  but  parallel  streams  in  the  female 
heart.  We  would  not  applaud  courage,  however,  unless  under  the  con- 
trol of  a  higher  and  holier  principle. 

Thorfin  married  Gudrida,  the  widov/  of  Thorstein,  third  son  of  Eric. 
She  accompanied  her  husband  to  Vinland.  Snorre,  their  son,  was  the 
first  white  child  born  in  America.  From  him  descended  the  distin- 
guished associate  of  Professor  Rafn,  Finn  Magnusen.  The  late  great 
sculptor,  Thorwaldsen,  of  Denmark,  was  of  this  family.  Bishop  Thu- 
lack  Rudolfson  was  a  descendant  of  Thorfin's,  and  it  is  supposed  that 
he  wrote  or  compiled  these  documents. 

A  distinguished  geologist  from  Denmark  has  lately  found  the  remains 
of  an  Icelandic  city  in  Brazil.  He  discovered  Runic  inscriptions  on 
flag-stones.  Above  all,  he  found  a  statue  of  the  Northman  god  of 
thunder,  Thor,  with  his  attributes,  the  magic  girdle  and  hammer. 

Thorfin,  the  most  distinguished  of  these,  returned  to  Iceland,  where 
he  ended  his  days,  living  in  great  splendor. 

The  editor  of  the  American  Antiquities,  Professor  Rafn,  and  his 
associate,  Professor  Finn  Magnusen,  think  that  Vinland  was  situated  in 
the  east  part  of  Rhode-Island,  and  in  the  south  part  of  Massachusetts, 
on  or  about  Narragansett  Bay  and  Taunton  River. 

The  points  in  the  Icelandic  documents  alluding  to  the  locality  of  Vin- 
land, may  be  reckoned  the  Geography,  Natural  History,  Astronomical 
Phenomena,  and  Vestiges  of  Residence  of  Northmen  in  .that  place. 
All  of  these,  in  the  opinion  of  the  editor  of  the  American  Antiquities, 
point  to  the  head  of  Narragansett  Bay  or  Mt.  Hope  Bay,  as  the  local- 
ity of  Hop,  the  central  part  of  Vinland. 

As  the  Royal  Society  have  held  correspondence  with  several  learned 
societies  in  this  country  for  some  years,  they  are  well  qualified  to  form 
a  judgment  on  this  subject.  Dr.  VVebb,  now  of  Boston,  formerly  Sec- 
retary of  the  Rhode-Island  Historical  Society,  and  J.  R.  Bartlett,  Esq., 
of  New  York,  have  been  very  etficient  agents  in  aiding  the  Royal  So- 
ciety in  presenting  this  great  work  to  the  world. 

The  following  letter,  from  the  late  General  Holstein,  Professor  in  the 
"  Albany  Female  Academy,"  will  show  the  care  taken  to  acquire  in- 
formation relative  to  American  Antiquities  : 

"  In  proof  of  the  great  exertions  made  by  the  Northern  Antiquarian 
Society,  in  Copenhagen,  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  Scandinavian  anti- 
quities in  America,  I  hereby  state  that,  several  years  since,  a  letter  of 
inquiry,  sealed  with  the  seal  of  the  Society,  was  sent  to  a  professional 
gentleman  of  Geneva,  in  this  State,  a  translation  of  which  I  made  from 
the  Danish  tongue." 

The  Geography  of  Vinland. — Concerning  the  situation  of  Hellu- 
land  there  can  be  no  doubt,  as  it  was  the  first  land  south-west  of  Green- 
land.    Where  else  could  this  have  been,  unless  the  coast  of  Labrador  ? 


I 


DISCOVERY    OF   AMERICA. 


15 


Markland  was  situated  south-west  from  Helluland,  three  days'  sai], 
or  three  hundred  and  sixty  English  miles.  This  is  supposed  to  be  No- 
va Scotia. 

The  distance  of  Nova  Scotia  and  New  Brunswick  agrees  with  the 
account  the  Icelanders  gave  of  Markland. 

Vinland  was  situated  two  days'  sail,  or  about  two  hundred  and  forty 
English  miles  to  the  south-west  of  Markland  ;  and  if  Markland  has 
been  properly  located,  must  be  sought  in  or  near  the  south  part  of  Mas- 
sachusetts. 

In  the  Icelandic  documents,  it  is  said  that  Hop  the  residence  of 
Thorfin,  was  situated  on  an  elevation  of  land,  near  a  river  which  flowed 
south,  through  a  bay,  into  the  ocean.  From  this  the  land  stretched 
east ;  and,  tiirning  north,  formed  a  promontory,  which  terminated  in  a 
point  or  cape,  which  they  call  Kjarlanes.  The  east  side  of  the  prom- 
ontory was  bound  by  long,  narrow  beaches,  or  sand-hills.  To  those 
who,  like  myself,  have  often  viewed  the  Atlantic  from  these  sand-hills^ 
this  account  appears  peculiarly  striking. 

ThE  Natural  History  of  Vinland. — Vinland  was  remarkable  for 
its  vines,  maple  trees,  maize,  and  a  great  variety  of  wild  animals.  The 
waters  abounded  with  fish,  and  were  occasionally  visited  with  whales. 
Birds  were  numerous.  The  eider  duck  was  seen  about  the  islands  in 
large  numb  rs. 

As  to  vines,  they  are  said  to  be  numerous  even  now  ;  and  this  is 
more  particularly  true  of  the  country  around  Narragansett  Bay.  And 
was  not  an  island  called  Mariha's  Vineyard,  on  account  of  the  multi- 
plicity of  vines  growing  there  ? 

The  celebrated  Bishop  Berkley,  who  attempted  to  establish  a  theo- 
logical seminary  in  Rhode-Island,  says,  in  his  letter  to  his  friends  in 
Europe,  that  vines  were  as  plenty  on  the  island  as  in  Italy.  Gosnald, 
who  visited  the  Elizabeth  Isles  in  1602,  says,  that  vines  were  in  great 
profusion  there. 

In  the  documents  it  is  said  that,  in  that  region,  are  the  red,  sugar 
and  bird's-eye  maple.  The  Northmen  cut  down  the  trees  ;  and,  after 
they  were  dry,  they  loaded  their  ships  with  the  timber.  It  is  supposed 
that  the  bird's-eye  variety  was  made  an  article  of  commerce. 

As  to  Indian  corn  or  maize,  it  seems  our  pilgrim  fathers'  found  some 
in  what  is  now  called  Truro,  near  the  end  of  the  Cape.  It  was  buried 
in  the  earth  to  preserve  it. 

It  is  needless  to  remind  the  reader  of  the  multiplicity  of  fish  that  still 
abound  in  the  waters  of  this  region.  The  sportsman  may,  at  this  day, 
tell  his  friends,  in  the  language  of  Capt  Smith,  of  Jamestown,  who 
described  this  quarter,  "of  the  pleasure  to  be  derived  from  angling, 
and  crossing  the  sweet  air,  from  isle  to  isle,  over  the  silent  streams  of  a 
calm  sea." 

As  to  whales,  I  have  occasionally  seen  them  spouting  around  the 
sandy  shores  of  the  Cape. 

In  regard  to  the  eider  duck,  in  the  Latin  translation  it  is  called 
"  anas  moUissima,"  a  duck  with  the  finest  of  feathers.  The  real  eider 
duck  of  Iceland,  is,  at  this  day,  frequently  seen  around  Martha's  Vine- 


16 


A   tECTlTRE   ON   THE 


c     1! 


i 


4 

'I; 


11 
■r-  I 

i- 


n 


k 


yard.     Wild  fowl  must  have  been  numerous  there,  as  an  island  is  still 
called  Egg  Island,  from  the  quantity  of  eggs  they  deposited.* 

Thohfin  describes  the  Soil  and  Climate. — The  winters  of  Vin- 
land  are  said  to  be  remarkably  mild,  but  little  snow  falling,  and  cattle 
subsisting  out  of  doors,  through  the  winter. 

This  account  does  not  agree  with  the  description  of  New-England 
winters  at  this  time.  Still,  however,  it  has  been  the  practice  of  the 
farmers  on  Nantucket  and  Martha's  Vineyard,  to  let  their  sheep  and 
cattle  lie  out  during  the  winter.  But  the  cold  winters  of  New-England, 
compared  with  those  of  Greenland,  are  as  the  mildness  of  spring. 
They  speak,  however,  of  a  snowy  winter. 

But  there  have  been  great  changes  in  the  face  of  the  earth  and  in 
the  climate,  in  different  ages.  Change  is  the  law  of  nature.  Has  not 
one  of  the  bright  cluster  been  blotted  out  from  the  map  of  heaven  ? 
Such  changes  also  take  place  on  the  face  of  the  earth. 

The  Dead  Sea  was,  in  early  times,  sixty  miles  long.  It  is  now  only 
thirty.  And  even  old  Ontario  and  Erie  have  receded  from  their  former 
bounds,  leaving  to  the  present  generation  a  rich  tract  of  land,  several 
miles  wide,  and  a  beautiful  ridge-road.  Who  does  not  admire  the 
everlasting  rocks,  rising  in  stern  grandeur,  on  either  side  of  the  Mo- 
hawk, at  the  Little  Falls  ?  Yet,  the  lovely  vale  above  must  once  have 
been  the  bed  of  a  vast  lake.  This  is  manifest  from  the  fact,  that  there 
are  "  pot-holes"  found  at  an  elevation  of  sixty  feet  above  the  river,  at 
these  falls. 

These  circular  excavations  were  made  ages  since,  by  the  circumvo- 
lution of  stones,  driven  by  the  rapid  descent  of  the  waters.  You  can 
see  a  demonstration  of  this  fact,  by  looking  at  the  high  falls  of  Black 
River  or  Trenton. 

And  what  a  mighty  labor  was  that,  for  the  waters  of  this  lake  to 
have  found  their  way,  gradually,  through  the  high  and  continuous  wall 
of  granite,  where  now  the  Mohawk  murmurs  as  it  rolls  along  its  new 
channel. 

Geological  facts  prove  that  it  was  much  warmer,  formerly,  in  the 
North,  than  it  is  now. 

Large  forests  once  flourished  in  Lapland. 

It  is  not  to'be  disputed  that,  in  former  ages,  Iceland  produced  timber 
in  abundance.  Large  trees  are  occasionally  found  there  in  the  marshes 
and  valleys,  to  a  considerable  depth  in  the  ground.  Segments  of  the 
fossil-trees  have  lately  been  exported,  in  proof  of  the  alleged  fact. 

It  is  asserted  in  the  ancient  Icelandic  records,  that  when  Ingulf,  the 
Norwegian,  first  landed  in  Iceland,  879,  he  found  so  thick  a  cluster  of 
birch  trees  that  he  penetrated  them  with  difficulty. 

Henderson,  in  his  Travels  in  Iceland,  says,  that  the  climate  has  dete- 
riorated there,  from  the  fact  that  it  was  once  shaded  with  forests. 

When  the  first  Norwegian  colony  settled  in  Greenland,  about  1000 
years  ago,  they  found  no  difficulty  from  ice  in  approaching  the  coast,  and 
a  regular  correspondence  was  supported  by  their  people  for  many  years. 

*  Mr.  Audubon,  whose  letter  to  me  is  on  the  second  page,  says  he  has  seen  in  Labrador, 
twcnty>seven  nests  of  the  eider  duck  within  a  very  small  compass. 


DISCOVERY    OF   AMERICA. 


17 


Astronomical  Phenomena. — The  learned  Editor  and  his  associate 
deduce  from  the  astronomical  data,  lat.  41°  24'  10",  which  is  the  lati- 
tude of  Narragansett  Bay,  and  Mount  Hope.  There,  at  the  Winter 
Solstice,  December  22,  the  day  is  nine  hours. 

That  the  Northmen  were  capable  of  taking  latitudes,  is  evident  from 
the  circumstance,  that,  at  that  period,  they  speak  of  eclipses,  which 
have  late'y  been  calculated  by  Sir  David  Brewster  and  the  distinguished 
Norwegian  astronomer,  Hanstein,  and  found  correct. 

The  reading,  however,  that  leads  to  the  above  calculation,  has  been 
disputed.  The  'vhole  controversy  turns  on  the  meaning  of  two  words. 
From  what  we  can  understand,  we  presume  the  Editor  is  correct  in  his 
exposition. 

But  suppose  we  were  to  rejct  all  b'story  on  accou;.c  of  some  appa- 
rent or  real  discrepancy  in  narratiu  ;'  In  such  a  case,  some  future 
reader  might  declare  that  the  history  of  the  American  Revolution  was 
neither  credible  nor  authentic  ;  for  it  is  said  that  the  distinguished  bat- 
tle of  the  17th  June,  1775,  was  fought  on  Bunker's  Hill,  instead  of 
Brqed's.  Who  does  not  know  that  Bunker's  Hill,  rising  back  of 
Breed's,  is  more  elevated  than  the  latter,  on  which  the  monument  is 
rising  ?  (Yes,  and  by  the  patriotism  of  the  ladies  of  1810,  now  towers 
to  the  stars.) 

Little  cAi%  be  said  of  the  Vestiges  of  the  Residence  of  the 
Northmen  in  this  Country. — There  is  a  large  rock  at  the  junction 
of  Smith's  creek  with  Taunton  river,  with  a  singular  inscription  on  it. 
It  was  evidently  made  with  an  iron  instrument.  Passing  over  the  par- 
ticular remarks  of  the  Editor,  on  these  letters,  1  would  give  his  sup- 
position as  to  their  meaning. 

Thorfins,  with  one  hundred  and  fifty-one  men,  took  possession  of  the 
country. 

Professor  Rafn  has  deciphered  an  inscription  on  the  Paradisic  rock 
of  Iceland,  which,  he  says,  proves  beyond  doubt  the  European  origin 
of  the  inscription  on  this  in  Massachusetts. 

John  R.  Bartlett,  Esq.  copied  the  inscription.  He  found  the  charac- 
ters permanently  imbeddec'  in  the  rock  called  Gneiss. 

There  are  similar  inscriptions  on  rocks  in  the  vicinity  of  Mount  Hope 
Bay. 

The  people  in  the  north  of  Europe  were  fond  of  making  inscriptions 
on  rocks  on  the  borders  of  lakes  and  rivers ;  for  such  are  found  in 
Norway,  Sweden,  and  Scotland.     Tht/  are  called  "  Runes." 

One  of  these  inscriptions,  found  on  a  rock  in  Sweden,  has  been  de- 
ciphered by  Professor  Finn  Magnusen.  The  inscription  relates  to  a 
battle  fought  about  A.  D.  680,  between  the  kings  of  Norway  and  Swe- 
den.    Accounts  of  this  battle  were  given  by  authentic  historians. 

In  a  work  just  issued  in  Denmark,  it  is  proved  that  there  are  several 
other  inscriptions  found  in  the  neighborhood  of  Taunton,  like  the  one 
above.  Also,  that  the  old  stone  building  at  Newport,  R.  I.  was  erected 
by  the  Northmen ;  for  it  is  exactly  like  the  stone  houses  of  Norway, 
built  as  baptisteries.  The  oldest  people  of  Rhode  Island  know  nothing 
of  the  origin  of  that  curiously  built  edifice. 


16 


A   LECTURE   ON   THE 


The  light  of  evidence  constantly  flowing  in  from  every  quarter,  con- 
firms fully  the  fact,  that  the  men  of  the  North  crossed  the  Atlantic 
before  the  day  of  Columbus.  Objections  to  the  theory  are  now  few, 
and,  like  angels'  visits,  "  far  between." 

The  Northmen  originally  used  sixteen  of  these  Runic  characters. 

Webe  the  Northmen  capable  of  making  discoveries,  and  of  record- 
ing them  .'  The  rude  children  of  cur  forests  could  not  perform  a  work 
so  mighty. 

The  Roman  historian,  Tacitus,  spake  of  the  invasion  of  the  people 
of  the  North  before  the  Christian  era.  He  says  of  the  Cimbri,  that 
they  were  not  a  small  tribe,  but  mighty  in  fame ;  that  the  vestiges  of 
their  ancient  glory  still  remained  in  their  fortifications ;  that  no  other 
nation  had  so  often  given  them  cause  to  dread  their  arms — not  the 
Carthagenians,  or  Spaniards,  or  Gauls. 

In  later  times,  the  Northmen  made  incursions  upon  Germany, 
France,  England,  the  Orkney,  Farroe,  and  Shetland  Isles. 

The  French  were  in  buch  fear  of  the  Northmen,  that  they  inserted 
in  their  Liturgy,  "  A  furore  Normanorum,  libera  nos,  O  Domine."* 

In  the  ninth  and  tenth  centuries,  the  Danes  or  Northmen  invaded 
England,  and  seated  one  of  their  favorite  princes,  Canute,  on  the  throne 
of  Alfred. 

They  were  a  daring  people — the  sea  was  their  home — the  mountain 
wave  was  the  scene  of  their  sport — far  and  wide  did  they  wander, 
without  compass  to  guide. 

Their  vessels  were  built  of  timber  that  is  now  eagerly  sought  by  the 
first  maritime  nation  of  the  earth. 

A  people,  some  of  whose  leaders  boasted  of  never  having  Piept  by  a 
cottage  fire,  became  the  dread  of  ChHstendom.  They  ruled  the  waters 
from  the  Arctic  ocean  to  the  Azores — they  passed  between  the  pillars 
of  Hercules — they  ravaged  the  coasts  of  Spain  and  France — sacked 
the  cities  of  Tuscany — drove  the  Saracens  from  Sicily.  They  deso- 
lated the  classic  fields  of  Greece — penetrated  the  walls  of  Constantino- 
ple. Yes,  in  rescuing  the  Holy  Sepulchre,  they  led  the  van  of  the 
chivalry  of  Europe.  Mark  their  valor  and  their  success  ;  for  one  hun- 
dred Northmen  knights,  with  one  aid  or  squire  each,  drove  ten  thousand 
Saracens  from  Sicily. 

Scott  gives  a  beautiful  description  of  this  remarkable  people,  in 
speaking  of  the  Western  Isles : 

"  Thither  came  in  times  afar, 
Stern  Lochlin's  sons  of  roving  war : 
The  Northmen,  trained  to  spoil  and  blood, 
Skilled  to  prepare  the  raven's  food ; 
Kin^s  of  the  main,  their  leaders  brave— 
Their  barks,  the  i>kagons  of  the  wave." 

In  describing  king  Harold's  ship,  it  is  said  : 

"  And  dragons'  heads  adorn  the  prow  of  gold." 

Seest  thou  the  tiny  fleet  of  some  school-boy,  launched  on  an  isolated 

*  From  the  rage  of  the  Northmen,  good  Lord  deliver  us. 


» 


DISCOVERY   OF   AMERICA. 


19 


con- 
tntic 
few, 


ord- 
vork 

ople 

that 

es  of 

jther 

the 

any, 

;rted 

* 

aded 
irone 

ntain 
nder, 

the 

by  a 
'aters 
illars 
icked 
deso- 
ilino- 
f  the 

hun- 
isand 

s,  in 


lated 


sheet  of  water  ?  And  such  were  the  greatest  armaments  of  the  famous 
nations  of  antiquity,  compared  with  those  of  the  Northmen. 

The  present  illustrious  queen  of  England  is  a  direct  descendant  of 
the  Northmen.  It  will  be  recollected  that  Rollo,  the  Norman,  invaded 
France  in  912,  and  enthroned  himself  in  the  North.  In  1066,  William 
of  Normandy  conquered  England.  These  sovereigns  were  Northmen  ; 
and  from  their  family,  the  pride  and  glory  of  (ireat  Britain  descended. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  eleventh  century,  the  Danes  and  Norwegians 
were  converted  to  Christianity,  and  thereby  received  a  new  impulse, 
that  led  them  to  extend  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel.  And  who  but  this 
people  could  ever  have  established  missions  in  Greenland  ? 

What  shall  we  say  of  the  ability  of  the  Northmen  to  record  incidents 
of  their  voyage .'' 

In  the  year  1000,  on  their  conversion  to  Christianity,  they  adopted 
the  Roman  alphabet.  This  was  their  Augustan  age.  The  thirst  of  the 
Icelanders  for  learning,  is  seen  in  the  conduct  of  Ulfijot,  their  supreme 
legislator,  who,  in  925,  undertook  a  voyage  to  Norway,  in  his  sixtieth 
year,,  to  acquire  a  more  perfect  knowledge  of  the  legal  customs  and 
institutions  of  tne  parent  country. 

In  Iceland,  the  learned  were  called  Skalds  and  Sagamen. 

The  former  were  poets  and  historians.  Skalds  denote  "  smoothers 
or  polishers  of  larguage." 

The  Sagamen  recited  in  prose,  with  greater  detail,  what  the  Skalds 
had  recited  in  verse. 

By  the  recitations  of  the  Skalds,  the  real  and  traditionary  history  of 
the  country  was  transmitted  from  generation  to  generation. 

Memory  is,  perhaps,  the  most  improveable  faculty  of  our  nature. 
Deprived  of  books,  it  depends  upon  its  own  resources.  Its  strength  is 
seen  in  the  following  instance  :  An  Icelandic  Skald  sang  sixty  different 
lays  in  one  evening,  before  king  Harold  Sigurdson ;  and,  being  asked 
if  he  knew  any  more,  declared  that  these  were  only  the  half  of  what 
lie  could  sing. 

Their  traditionary  histories  were  written  down  and  preserved. 

As  poetry  is  among  the  antiquities  of  all  nations,  the  events  it  records 
have  ever  been  preserved  by  the  recitations  of  Skalds,  Minstrels  or 
Bards. 

And  whom  does  the  conqueror  of  Wales  cut  off  from  the  land? 
Does  not  Edward  the  First,  of  England,  destroy  the  Minstrels  of  Wales, 
lest  they  should,  by  their  recitations,  awaken  that  spirit  of  liberty  in  the 
breasts  of  the  vanquished,  which  would  lead  them  to  throw  off  the  yoke 
•of  the  British  monarch  ? 

These  Skalds  were  distinguished  men — the  companions  of  kings. 
They  sometimes  were  kings,  as  in  the  instance  of  Regnar  Lodbrok. 

The  Sagamen  made  their  recitations  in  public  and  private,  at  con- 
venient opportunities. 

If  Augustus  delighted  to  have  Virgil  and  Horace  on  either  hand,  so 
the  Scandinavian  monarchs  rejoiced  to  have  Skalds  and  Sagamen  in 
their  presence. 

At  solemn  feasts,  the  services  of  these  men  were  required. 

Ssemund,  in  1036,  collected  the  different  poems  relating  to  the  my- 


wm 


30 


A    LECTaRE    ON    THE 


*     II  •' 


.  i 


!i 


if 


thology  and  history  of  the  North.  The  collection  was  called  the  "  Po- 
etic Edda."  He  was  a  man  of  learning,  having  been  educated  at  the 
Universities  of  Germany  and  France. 

He  performed  for  the  ancient  poems  the  same  office  which  is  said  to 
have  born  done  by  the  ancient  Clreek  rha[)S()dist  who  first  collected  and 
arranged  the  sonji';  of  liis  |)redecessors,  and  reduced  iheni  to  one  con- 
tinuous poem,  called  Homer's  Iliad. 

Snorre  Sturslon,  judge  of  Iceland,  was  the  most  distinguished  scholar 
of  his  day.  His  principal  work  was  the  Prosaic  Edda.  It  treats,  in 
particular,  of  Scandinavian  mythology.  He  lived  in  1178.  His  bath 
still  attracts  the  attention  of  the  traveller.  The  aqueduct  of  it  is  five 
hundred  feet  long,  and  is  composed  of  hewn  stone  finely  united  by 
cement.  The  reservoir  is  similarly  constructed,  and  will  contain  thirty 
persons.     The  water  was  sup|)lied  f'om  one  of  their  warm  springs. 

The  general  characteristics  of  the  Icelandic  tongue  are  copiousness, 
energy,  and  flexibility,  to  an  extent  that  rivals  every  modern  language, 
and  which  enables  it  to  enter  into  successful  competition  with  the  Greek 
and  Latin. 

Were  not  the  Icelanders,  then,  capable  of  recording  the  events  inci- 
dent to  a  voyaf^s  of  discovery  .'* 

The  internal  evidences  found  in  these  documents  are  in  favor  of 
their  authenticity. 

Besides,  there  are  in  existence  a  series  of  works  from  the  time  when 
these  voyages  purport  to  have  been  made,  down  to  the  present  time, 
which  have  been  preserved,  and  which  make  mention  of  these  discoveries. 

Distinguished  men,  who  have  had  superior  opportunities  of  ascertain- 
ing the  merits  of  this  question,  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
descendants  of  the  Scandinavians  were  the  discoverers  of  America, 
prior  to  the  time  of  Columbus.  Among  these,  are  Dr.  Forster,  Mr. 
Wheaton,  our  Minister  at  the  Court  of  Berlin,  and  Baron  Von  Hum- 
boldt, also  of  the  above  city. 

In  a  work  sent  from  Denmark,  are  the  following  important  remarks : 
"  Alexander  Von  Humboldt,  who,  of  all  modern  travellers,  has  thrown 
the  greatest  light  on  the  physical  circumstances,  first  discovery,  and 
earliest  history  of  America,  has  admitted  that  the  Scandinavian  North- 
men were  the  true,  original  discoverers  of  the  New  World.  He  has 
also  remarked,  that  the  information  which  the  public  as  yet  possesses 
of  that  remarkable  epoch  in  the  Middle  Ages,  is  extremely  scanty  ;  and 
he  has  expressed  a  wish  that  the  Northern  Literati  would  collect  and 
publish  all  the  accounts  relating  to  that  subject." 

The  Society  of  Northern  Antiquarians  has  complied  with  his  request, 
in  publishing  to  the  world  the  great  work  I  before  mentioned. 

Besides  Adam  of  Bremen's  account  of  the  discovery  of  America,  this 
great  work  speaks  of  Bishop  Eric's  voyage  to  Vinland,  in  1121.  Al- 
though Thorfin's  men  were  driven  away  at  first  by  the  natives,  yet,  it 
is  reasonable  to  suppose,  that  they  at  length  returned  and  formed  colo- 
nies in  this  quarter,  together  with  others  who  visited  America,  as  named 
in  the  Icelandic  MSS. 

If  voyages  were  made,  from  time  to  time,  to  diflferent  parts  of  Amer- 
ica, by  the  Northmen,  is  it  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  some  parts 


'i  ^ 


DISCOVERY    or    AMERICA. 


21 


iPo- 

the 

Id  to 
lund 
:on- 

lolar 

in 

)ath 

five 

by 


of  our  country  were  inhabited  by  them  for  a  long  time,  and  that  Bishop 
Enc  visited  Vinland  to  perform  Episcopal  duties,  and  that  the  North- 
men left  evidences  of  their  arts,  in  the  antiquities  ]  will  briefly  name  ? 

How  fond  is  man  to  linger  around  mouldering  ruins — to  fix  the  eye 
on  the  nuitiiated  column  overgrown  with  ivy  !  But  are  there  not  an- 
tiquities as  worthy  as  those  of  art  ?     1  mean  those  of  our  own  species. 

1  shall  make  a  remark  on  a  human  skeleton  I  saw,  not  long  since,  at 
Fall  River,  in  the  vicinity  of  Narragansett  Bay. 

I  had  an  extensive  view  of  the  region  around  Mount  Hope,  lying  on 
the  west  of  Mount  Hope  Bay.  How  accurately  is  the  scenery  por- 
trayed in  the  Icelandic  documents  ! 

A  skeleton  was  dug  up,  a  few  years  since,  in  that  place.  It  had  a 
breast-plato  or  medal  hanging  from  its  neck,  thirteen  inches  long,  and 
six  in  width  at  the  top,  and  five  at  the  bottom.  It  had,  also,  an  orna- 
ment of  fillet- work  around  its  body,  four  and  a  half  inches  wide.  These 
ornaments  are  made  of  brass,  or,  as  Dr.  Webb  says,  of  bronze.  A 
knowledge  of  the  uses  of  this  artificial  metal  implies  a  considerable  ad- 
vance in  the  arts. 

1  witnessed,  lately,  an  object  of  into-rest  in  the  State  of  New  York. 

Not  long  since,  a  large  oak  tree,  cut  down  in  Lyons,  was  taken  to  New- 
ark ;  and,  on  sawing  it,  there  was  found,  near  the  centre,  the  marks  of 
an  axe.  On  counting  the  concentric  circles,  it  was  discovered  that 
four  hundred  and  sixty  had  been  formed  since  the  cutting  was  made. 

But  the  most  striking  circumstance  is,  that  this  large  cavity,  now  vis- 
ible, was  made  by  an  edged  tool.  The  rude  stone  axes  of  the  present 
race  of  Indians  could  never  have  made  clefts  so  smooth  as  those  I  saw 
in  the  block  in  the  hotel  at  Newark. 

On  further  examination,  1  presume  this  skeleton,  whose  head  is  dif- 
ferent from  that  of  the  natives,  was  a  Northman  ;  and  that  the  cuttings 
in  this  tree  were  made  by  axes  wielded  by  the  descendants  of  tlie 
Northmen.  For  I  find  that  the  Icelandic  MSS.  speak  of  breast-plates 
worn  by  the  Northmen  ;  and  as  to  their  axes,  it  is  stated  that  the  natives 
tried  them  on  wood,  and  afterwards  on  stone  ;  but  the  instruments  used 
by  the  former  to  cut  down  maple  trees,  could  not  withstand  the  use 
made  of  them,  by  the  latter,  upon  stone.  If  it  be  asked  what  has  be- 
come of  the  Northmen,  and  where  are  their  descendants.?  we  answer  : 
Like  the  mighty  master-builders  of  the  splendid  cities  of  Central  Amer- 
ica, and  of  the  fortifications,  mounds,  &c.  of  the  United  States,  they  have 
passed  into  oblivion.  Nations  seem  to  vanish  in  a  day  : — like  the 
300,000  inhabitants  of  Moscow,  who  left  the  city  instantly  on  the  ap- 
proach of  the  mad  Corsican. 

There  have  been  discovered  beyond  lat.  60°,  in  Greenland,  upwards 
of  500  people,  resembling  those  in  the  north  of  Europe,  probably  de- 
scendants of  the  Northmen. 

An  important  inquiry  arises :  Was  Columbus  aware  of  the  discove- 
ries of  the  Northmen  }  From  a  letter  preserved  by  his  son,  it  appears 
he  visited  Iceland  in  1477.  It  is  thought  by  the  Danes  that  he  there 
obtained  a  knowledge  of  the  discovery  of  Vinland.  Allowing  this  to 
be  the  case,  it  is  singular  he  should  never  have  given  any  intimation 
of  such  knowledge. 


22 


A   LECTUHE   ON   THE 


I  i 


Instead  of  walking  through  Spain,  leading  his  son  by  the  hand,  would 
he  not  at  once  have  rushed  into  the  presence  of  the  sovereigns,  and 
acquired  patronage,  wealth  and  honor,  by  telling  them  that  the  obscure 
Icelanders  had  discovered  the  region  he  wished  to  unfold  ? 

His  greatest  enemies  never  accused  him  of  having  reached  the  New 
World  by  information  received  from  Iceland. 

But,  as  Columbus  was  rather  artful,  he  might,  from  particular  mo- 
tives, have  concealed  this  knowledge  from  the  observation  of  mankind. 

After  all,  let  not  the  circumstance  of  this  prior  discovery,  cause,  in 
our  view,  the  laurels  given  to  Columbus  to  wither  on  his  brow.  Let 
us  ever  honor  him  for  his  perseverance  and  his  virtues. 

Let  not  Leif  and  his  associate  Northmen  deprive  him  of  what  the 
voice  of  nations  has  awarded,  the  merit  of  having  given,  not  to  Ferdi- 
nand and  Isabella  only,  but  to  successive  generations,  a  New  World. 

Iceland,  though  but  a  speck  on  the  bosom  of  the  Northern  ocean,  is 
not  unworthy  of  our  notice.  Though  dark  to  the  superficial  observer, 
yet  it  shines  with  a  lustre  brighter  than  the  flame  rising  from  its  volca- 
no.— It  is  the  light  of  knowledge.  That  obscure  island  is  remarkable 
for  the  attention  paid  to  learning.  Even  many  among  the  common 
class  pursue  the  higher  branches  of  study.  Their  long  nights  are  en- 
livened by  the  custom  of  every  member  of  the  family  gathering  around 
the  bright  lamp,  while  one  reads  for  the  amusement  and  instruction  of  all. 

The  sources  of  happiness  are  not,  like  those  of  mighty  rivers,  hid 
from  the  view  of  most  people.  They  are  accessible  to  all.  The  Ice- 
landers, living  in  a  remote  island,  and  cut  oflT  from  privileges  that  milder 
climates  present,  are  naturally  led  to  look  for  happiness  in  t'.j  pursuit 
of  knowledge. 

If  the  celebrated  Pliny  could  say  his  books  were  sovereign  consolers 
of  sorrow,  cannot  the  Icelander  also  declare  that,  when  mountain- waves 
lash  the  shores,  he  can  find  pleasure  in  the  pursuit  of  those  studies  that 
mend  the  heart  and  enlighten  the  mind  ?  Ah,  yes  !  fondness  for  books 
will  create  an  artificial  summer  in  the  depths  of  the  most  gloomy  season. 

The  sunny  Italy  may  boast  of  the  beauteous  tints  that  flush  her  skies ; 
but,  after  all,  her  effeminate  inhabitants  may  be  destitute  of  that  happi- 
ness enjoyed  by  those  who  live  where  winter  reigns  uncontrolled  most 
of  tile  year. 

The  benevolence  of  Deity  is  seen  in  the  contentedness  felt  by  those 
who  live  in  the  higher  latitudes,  where,  as  a  writer  said  of  countries 
north  of  the  Alps,  Nature  seems  to  have  acted  the  part  of  a  stepmother. 

What  a  contrast  between  the  condition  of  the  Icelanders  and  that  of 
their  forefathers  !  They  were  the  worshippers  of  the  god  Wodin. 
And  what  were  his  attributes  ?  He  was  styled  the  Father  of  Carnage  ! 
His  greatest  favorites  were  such  as  destroyed  most  of  their  fellow- 
creatures  in  the  field  of  battle. 

But  the  Prince  of  Peace  has  broken  the  sceptre  of  the  Father  of 
Carnage. 

The  benign  influence  of  His  Gospel  is  seen  in  all  the  departments 
of  Government.  Observe  its  effects  as  seen  in  the  difference  between 
the  feelings  of  Lodbrok,  a  Northman  king  and  Skald,  and  those  evinced 
by  one  who  was  so  successful  of  late  in  settling  our  border  difficulties. 


L 


OISCOVEBY   OF    AMERICA. 


28 


>      V 


Lodbrok,  in  his  death-song,  says  :  "  Eight  earls  graced  my  Dwina's 
mouths.  The  crimson  sweat  of  death  poured  on  the  sullen  sea."  Yes, 
he  exulted  in  seeing  his  laurels  dyed  in  the  blood  of  his  fellow-creatures. 
But  "  peace-makers "  in  Europe  and  America  gaze  in  rapture  on 
those  of  the  great  PACIFICATOR,  while  verdant  under  the  sun  of 
peace. 

Let  me  ask,  what  would  have  been  the  consequences,  had  Scott  "  let 
slip  the  dogs  of  "'ar?"  Cities  in  flames,  desolated  fields,  the  wail  of 
the  widow,  and  the  orphan's  cry  ! 

Who  would  not  award  to  such  a  hero,  rather  than  to  Augustus  Caesar, 
a  place  among  the  stars  ?     (See  Georgica,  B.  I.,  34.) 

Such  is  the  influence  of  Christianity,  where  the  Northmen  found 
those  who  heard  the  Great  Spirit  in  the  thunder. 

This,  as  Cicero  said  of  Rome,  is  the  glory  of  all  lands. 

"  Wisdom  and  knowledge  are  the  stability  of  our  times."  All  classes 
become  sensible  that  knowledge  is  the  guardian  of  property.  In  every 
place  they  eagerly  seek  after  that  wisdom  which,  as  Isocrates  says,  is 
the  only  imperishable  treasure.  Who  can  stay  the  progress  of  knowl- 
edge ?  You  might  as  well  think  of  erecting  a  tower  whence  you  could 
grasp  the  Pleiades,  as  to  attempt  to  oppose  the  march  of  mind.  To 
swell  the  tide  of  improvement,  it  is  pleasing  to  reflect  that  men  of  the 
first  talents  are  engaged ;  and  that,  through  the  medium  of  those  lec- 
tures, which,  if  they  are  not  the  fountains  of  knowledge,  are  important 
guides  to  them. 

A  word  in  praise  of  the  Scandinavians.  Like  the  patriarch,  they 
went  in  search  of  a  region,  they  knew  not  where.  vVe  praise  them  for 
their  courage,  we  applaud  them  for  their  zeal,  we  respect  them  for  their 
motives ;  for  they  were  anxious  to  enlarge  the  boundaries  of  knowl- 
edge.    They  reached  the  wished-for  land, 

'  Where  now  the  western  sun 
O'er  fields  and  floods,  o'er  every  living  soul, 
Dilfuseth  glad  repose." 

The  Scandinavians  have  opened  to  view  a  broad  region,  where  smil- 
ing Hope  invites  successive  generations  from  the  Old  World. 

Such  men  as  a  Cajsar  or  a  Tamerlane  conquer  but  to  devastate  coun- 
tries. Discoverers  add  new  regions  of  fertility  and  beauty  to  those 
already  known.  And  are  not  the  hardy  adventurers,  ploughing  the 
briny  wave,  more  attractive  than  the  troops  of  Alexander  marching  to 
conquer  the  world,  with  plumes  waving  in  the  gentle  breeze,  with  arms 
glittering  in  the  sunbeams .'  Who  can  tell  the  benefits  the  former  con- 
fer on  mankind  ? 

"  To  count  them  all  demands  a  thousand  tongues, 
A  tliroat  of  brass,  and  adamantine  lungs." 


APPENDIX. 


'/ 


Mft.  Stephens  does  not  affrco  with  the  majority  of  travellers  as  to  the  antiquity  of  the 
cities  ill  Central  America.  lie  is,  as  xMr.  Schoolcraft  observed  to  me,  in  tlit  minority  on 
thai  subject. 

In  one  placo,  however,  he  seems  to  confess  their  great  antiquity :  for  he  says  that  Cortez 
passed  witliiu  20  or  30  miles  of  them,  and  that  some  of  them  were  unknown  and  their  mein- 
orii  lost. 

I  have  seen  some  of  the  remarkable  antiquities  Mr.  Norman  brouj^ht  from  Yucatcm,  as 
Penates,  Hieroglyphics  on  tine  liuie-slono,  pieces  of  the  lintels  made  of  the  Zuporte  wood. 
He  kindly  gave  me  a  specimen  of  this  wood,  which  is  hard,  fute  and  heavy,  and  as  lasting  as 
time.  Beautiful  were  the  architecture  and  paintings  he  saw.  The  latter  was  in  fresco,  and 
as  fresh,  apparently,  as  if  recently  executed. 

Mr.  N.  thinks  the  cities  of  the  fiouth  are  of  very  remote  origin. 

The  wooden  beams  Mr.  Stephens  saw,  like  those  in  the  Cave  Temples  of  Hindostan,  which 
are  several  thousand  years  old,  and  the  old  oak  bridge,  built  near  Rome,  500  years  before 
Christ,  have  been  preserved  probably  for  an  cc|ual  period. 

In  relation  to  the  Northmen,  it  appears  to  be  generally  admitted,  that  they  were  the  first 
known  discoverers  of  the  Western  Continent. 

The  late  Noah  Webster,  Esq.  told  me  he  examined  the  subject  forty  years  since,  and  came 
to  the  above  conclusion. 

W.  11.  I'rcscott,  LL.D.  advances  the  same  opinioain  his  late  splendid  work  on  Mexico. 

Rev.  Mr.  Hawks,  now  of  St.  Louis,  has  written  a  valuable  little  work  on  "  Lost  Green- 
land," in  which  he  speaks  of  17  Bishops  who  successively  presided  in  that  country.  The 
colony  suddenly  disappeared  in  or  near  ItJl  1.    The  present  colony  was  established  in  1721. 

Capt.  Williams,  of  Boston,  a  Dane,  told  me  he  saw  the  governor  of  Greenland,  an  old 
schoolmate  of  his,  who  shewed  him  a  book  published  in  Greenland,  giving  an  account  of 
these  discoveries.  It  had  a  map  of  Cape  Cod  and  Boston  Harbor.  Capt.  W.  has  exam- 
ined the  mound  at  Si.  Louis,  and  savs  it  resembles  those  in  Denmark.  He  thinks  the  forti- 
fications West  were  erected  by  the  Northmen. 

It  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  such  fortifications  as  those  on  Rock  River,  Wiscon- 
sin, were  the  strong  holds  of  valiant  chiefs  of  the  North,  in  olden  times — that  on  this  conti- 
ii_nt  bolil  knights  once  sallied  forth  as  from  Feudal  castles,  with  lance  and  s])ear,  in  defence 
of  "  injured  ladj*  love."  I  have  a  piece  of  fine  burnt  brick  from  the  ruins  of  this  fortifica- 
tion at  Astraland,  Wis. 

Mr.  Schoolcraft  is  going  to  publish  an  article  on  a  stone  found  in  a  mound  in  Western 
Virginia,  that  has  a  Celtic  inscription  on  it.  This,  as  he  observed,  proves  that  Europeans 
visited  this  country  before  Columbus. 

As  to  the  ro''  men,  clouds  of  obscurity  conceal  their  origin.  Mr.  Schoolcraft,  late  Iiidiiin 
Agent,  tli'i.ivs  they  are  of  Asiatic  origin.  Many  suppose  they  are  the  <lesccndanls  of  the 
Isradiies.  Vague  are  llicir  own  traditions  as  to  their  origin.  Some  Indians  say  they  came 
from  the  East ;  some  from  the  West ;  some  fi  om  the  North,  and  some  from  the  South. 
Some  think  lliey  came  from  i>cneath  the  earth — others  suppose  they  came  from  the  skies. 

While  the  nations  of  the  earth  are  reposing  in  the  shade  of  the  Olive  Branch,  this  auspi- 
cious time  of  peace  enables  all  classes  to  engage  in  diose  studies  that  tend  to  soften  the 
min<l  and  refine  the  life. 

The  study  of  Antiquities  is  becoming  prominent  in  both  continents.  Even  the  crowned 
heads  of  Europe  are  paying  great  attention  to  anti(|uarian  researches.  As  the  Czar — the 
King  of  Prussia — Her  Majesty  of  England — the  Danes — the  French,  and  others  of  that  quar- 
ter of  the  globe  are  doing  much  to  unfold  the  history  of  remote  periods. 

And  that  spirit  of  inquiry  which  awoke  perhaps  in  the  East,  folds  not  its  wings  in  apathy 
on  crossing  the  Atlantic  ;  for  here  its  developments  astonish  both  hemispheres.  Who  can 
limit  the  vigilant  eye  of  the  antiquarian  in  its  future  discoveries  ? 


} 


J  i^NwxiMijpt  ■-'■    hmmjmm;:>^'»,  w*M>^^M 


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R  E  C  O  M  M  IC  N  D  A 1  1  O  N  S  . 


J'Vom  Major-(jl aural  Jcsiqj,  IJ.  S.  A. 

I  liave  attended  tlie  lecture  of  llov.  Mr.  Davis,  on  the  Discovery  of 
America  bytlie  JN'oriluned,  uiili  much  pleasure  and  protil:  and  1  respect- 
fully recommend  liini  to  the  patronage  of  teachers,  and  of  the  jjublic 
generally.  THOMAS  S.  JESLl'. 

Wasiii\(.ton  CiTV,  !M.\i!(ii  •2'-},  1840. 


From  t/ie  Prc^iclcnt  and  J*roJ'issurs  iff  Columlnan  Cotkgc,  D.  C. 

The  Undersigned  cordially  join  in  the  recoinmendalion  above  given. 

S.  CllAlMN. 
\VM.  RUGU LES. 
Coli.i:c;e  Hill,  D.  C.  March  25,  1810.  J.  C.  K   CHAPLIN. 


r/uhulifp.'ua,  Dec.  7,  l8Sd. 

Sin, — I  attended,  a  few  days  since,  your  Lectures  in  lliis  cily,  "  On 
the  Discovery  by  t!ie  iNorthnien,  '  and  derived  very  great  pleasure  from 
the  sanie. 

J3eing,   by  birth,  a  Northman,   and  having,  fi>r   some  years,  studied 
many  ol  the  old  Icelandic  documents  concerning  this  iiiierestiiig  subject, 
.'.  hesitate  not  to  say  that  your  lecture  is  compiled  with  much  care  and 
labor,  and  can  not  but  be  interesting  and  instructive  to  ail  persons. 
Your  obedient  servant, 

C.  D.   AIIFWEDSON,  / '.  S.  Consul  at  Slochhohn. 


From  Mrs.  Willurd,  of  Troii, 

Mr.  Davis  has  delivered  an  interesting  and  instructive  Lecture  relating 
to  the  liistorv  of  our  country,  to  members  of  the  Troy  Female  Seminary. 


From  tlic  Bofton  Dai/i/  Adrcr/iscr,  O-l.  1{>. 

The  Lectures  now  being  delivered  in  this  cily,  by  the  ilev.  A.  Davis,  on 
"  The  Discovery  of  the  American  Continent  by  the  Northmen,"  and  on 
"The  Ruins  of  Central  AniL'rica,"  are  exceedingly  iiitcrcsiing.  I  had 
the  pleasure,  last  evening,  of  being  an  auditor  of  the  hrst  Lecture,  and 
was,  in  common  with  many  others,  highly  gratiiled.  I  tru.-t  that  iMr.  Davis 
mav  meet  with  that  success  which  he  deserves.  He  luis  evidently  be- 
stowed great  labor  and  investigation  upon  this  interesting  subject,  of 
which  he  has  made  himself  i)erfectly  master.  Those  who  attend  Mr.  Da- 
vis' Lectures,  will  find  themselves  well  repaid  lur  lii(%timc  tliev  may  spend, 
by  the  instruction  and  pleasure  which  they  can  not  fail  lo  receive.       C. 

From  Professor  Dean,  and  John  ^<lll  Ihirni,  F>q. 

i  have  vend  with  much  pleasure,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Davis'  primed  Lecture 
on  the  subject  of  the  Ruins  and  the  Discoveries  oi'  the  Northmen  on  this 
Continent.  The  subject  itself  is  possessed  of  much  interest,  and  in  the 
Lecture  much  research  is  evidenced,  and  the  whole  treated  in  a  very 
attractive  manner. 

Albany,  Mauc  h  ;JI,  I8T2,  AMOS  DEAN. 


.-^^r^^^r-^.     -^.-,,^^,^-, 


